State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nezar visits Bangladesh

 His Excellency Dr. Nezar Sadiq Al Baharna, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, paid a three day visit to Bangladesh from 19-22 July 2007. The first ever bilateral visit by a Bahraini Minister to Bangladesh signals renewal of interest and commitment to the strengthening and expansion of relations between the two friendly countries.

During the visit, Dr. Al Baharna called on Professor Iajuddin Ahmed, President and Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser of the Non-Party Caretaker Government of Bangladesh.

Formal official talks were held between the delegation of Bahrain led by Dr. Al Baharna and Bangladesh delegation led by Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury.

Dr. Al Baharna paid tributes to Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed for his statesmanship in leading the Government during the interim period. He expressed Bahrain’s support for the reforms of the democratic institutions and schemes for good governance undertaken by the Caretaker Government. He said that it was an eye-opener for him to see the remarkable social progress and economic development realized by Bangladesh.

The Minister visited SQUARE Pharmaceuticals, one of the top 20, State-of-the-Art industries of the kind and was highly impressed by the quality of its products and high level of technical expertise.  A major garment factory named ‘New Age’, one of the most advanced Ready Made Garment (RMG) factories of Bangladesh. The Minister also visited Dohatech, a renowned ICT company producing processing data and software among others, for the UN and World Bank.

Dr. Al Baharna expressed the view that Bahrain and Bangladesh could establish joint ventures in these and many other areas to the mutual benefit of both nations. He encouraged the private sectors to explore the potentials of collaboration in trade, investment, tourism, human resource development etc.

During the official talks, the two sides agreed to conclude three Agreements as soon as possible. These are Bilateral Air Services Agreement, Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investment and Avoidance of Double Taxation. The two Ministers also agreed to establish a high level commission for Annual Review of the entire gamut of bilateral relations by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries. An MOU would be signed to this effect during the next high level visit.

State Minister Dr. Al Baharna announced that as a first step towards establishing the Bahrain’s diplomatic presence in Bangladesh, Bahrain would appoint a non-Resident Ambassador to Bangladesh as soon as possible. It is mentioned that Bangladesh established its Resident Embassy in Bahrain in February 1993.

During the visit, both sides underlined the importance of Private Sector initiatives in exploring business and investment. It was suggested that the Chambers of Commerce and Industries of the two countries could establish a joint business council for sustained contact, exchange of visits and exploring business opportunities. The visit of H.E. Dr. Nezar Sadiq Baharna to Bangladesh has launched a new era in the relations between Bangladesh and Kingdom of Bahrain.